The 35-year-old lone attacker, whoauthorities have identified as Philipp F(surnames are not released under German law) killed himself after he fled from emergency responders to the first floor of the building, Hamburg Police said in a statement.

Eight more people were wounded. Four have serious injuries, authorities in Hamburg confirmed Friday.

While the suspect’s motivations are currently unknown, the BBC reported that he was aformer member of the religious groupand had “ill feelings” towards the Jehovah’s Witness community.

German news outlet DW added that police were called to the Alsterdorf district of Germany’s second-largest city at about 9:15 p.m. (local time) on Thursday, where the attacker is believed to haveshot a window to enter the building.

Gregor Fischer/Getty Images

Police officers gather at the scene of a shooting that has left at least six people dead and four wounded in Alsterdorf district

He was armed with a handgun and carried two magazines with 15 bullets each and had another 20 magazines in his backpack, added DW. Police later found hundreds of rounds of ammunition when they searched the German national’s home, the outlet continued.

Jonas Walzberg/picture alliance via Getty Image

Hamburg: Police officers are on duty in Hamburg, standing in front of a sign reading “Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses”.

“There were 12 continuous shots,” a witness told local television reporters. “Then we saw how people were taken away in black bags.”

At a press conference,Hamburg’s interior senator Andy Grotedescribed it as “a homicide that we have never known here in Hamburg on this scale.” He added that first responders managed to separate the gunman from the rest of the congregation when they arrived and that “we can assume that they saved many people’s lives this way.”

Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholzcalled the shooting a “brutal act of violence” in a tweet, saying his thoughts were with the family of those slain and the emergency responders.

Forensics staff of the police is working inside a building where a shooting the night before left at least eight people dead and eight more wounded in Alsterdorf district

“I extend my deepest sympathy to the families of the victims. The forces are working at full speed to pursue the perpetrators and clarify the background,“Hamburg mayor Peter Tschentschersaid in a tweet.

The gunman had previously been brought to the attention of local police after an anonymous tip said he might not be mentally fit to own weapons. However, DW reportedthese concerns were dismissedwhen police found he’d broken no laws after visiting his home.

A police officer is carrying evidence wrapped in brown bags outside a building where a shooting the night before left at least eight people dead and eight more wounded in Alsterdorf district on March 9, 2023 in Hamburg, Germany

There are believed to be about 4,000 members of the Christian-based religious movement in Hamburg, and about 170,000 total members in Germany.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Germangun laws are more strict than regulations in the U.S. but there have still been deadly shootings in the European country. In January 2022, a man shot at students in a lecture hall atHeidelberg University, killing one and seriously injuring three others. In 2020, a mass shooting at two shisha bars in Hanauclaimed the lives of nine people.

source: people.com